The invention relates to a housing for a gas bag restraint system for the protection of a vehicle occupant in the event of a side impact.
A housing for such gas bag restraint system has end faces through which components of the restraint system emerge from the housing. The components to emerge from the end faces of the housing are in particular a gas lance, by means of which a gas bag arranged inside the housing can be provided with gas, as well as tensioning straps by means of which the gas bag in the inflated state is positioned and held in place along a part of the side structure of a vehicle. Conventionally, the end faces are designed to be open and the gas bag contained within the housing is surrounded by a foil by means of which it is held in position.
In contrast to this approach, the invention provides a housing for a gas bag restraint system for the protection of a vehicle occupant in the event of a side impact, which has at least one end face for the emergence of components of the restraint system from the housing. The end face has at least one flap. This flap serves for fixing the components emerging from the housing. This design ensures on the one hand that the end faces of the housing are closed, which protects the inside of the housing from contamination by dirt, and, on the other, that the ejection channel formed by the housing is stabilized, because the provision of the flaps prevents the ejection channel from collapsing before the housing is installed in the vehicle. In addition, there is the advantage provided by the design that the components emerging from the housing are fixed, which proves advantageous during the process of installation of the housing.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention can be seen from the sub-claims.